England’s Homebuilding Approvals Soar as Looser Rules Take Hold

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- The number of homes approved for
construction in England surged 62 percent in the fourth quarter
from a year earlier as government efforts to ease planning
regulations took hold, the Home Builders Federation said.

Local councils granted approvals for 45,041 homes in the
three months through December compared with 27,732 a year ago,
the London-based industry association said today in a statement
today. The total jumped 33 percent from the previous quarter.

The U.K. government passed legislation known as the
National Planning Policy Framework in 2011 to help ease planning
approvals by removing hundreds of pages of regulation and
offering local planners financial incentives to allow the
construction of new homes. The state is also helping buyers
finance new-home purchases through programs that share risk
between builders, lenders and the government.

“It’s a reflection that the National Planning Policy
Framework has started to work.” HBF spokesman Steve Turner said
by telephone. “We’re seeing the planning inspector being quite
robust and award in developers’ favor. But clearly one swallow
doesn’t make a summertime.”

Planning approvals in London more than doubled to 9,762 in
the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the most of any English
region, according to the report. The number of homes approved
for development nationwide last year totaled 140,555, the most
since 2008 when 168,559 were permitted.

The U.K. government wants to increase the supply of homes
to 240,000 a year to meet the demands of a growing population,
according to its Website. In England, 115,620 homes were built
last year, an increase of 1 percent, according to the Department
for Communities and Local Government.